


A Day in the Life of the Imaginary Mrs. Smith

by Meicdon13



Series: An Ongoing Exercise in the Appreciation of Erwin Smith [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Daydreaming, Fangirls, Gen, Married Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-28
Updated: 2014-03-28
Packaged: 2018-01-17 08:03:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1380085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meicdon13/pseuds/Meicdon13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The 104th trainees talk about what branch of the military they want to join after graduation. The Scouting Legion is a popular choice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Day in the Life of the Imaginary Mrs. Smith

**Author's Note:**

> I am basically indulging my inner Erwin fangirl. This fic is not meant to be taken seriously. [montrioshka](http://montrioshka.tumblr.com/) is an enabler. Beta by [inkstone](http://archiveofourown.org/users/inkstone).

It’s one of the very rare days off from training, and most of the trainees are hanging out in the dining hall. Their graduation is only a few weeks away, and everyone’s talking animatedly. They speculate about who will be in the top ten, talk about who will be in the bottom (“Do they even announce who’s in the bottom?” Conny asks), and who won’t be allowed to graduate at all.

“I’m definitely going to be in the top ten!” Jean says, smirking. “And I’m joining the Military Police.”

Eren snorts in disbelief, and Jean’s two seconds away from an angry retort, when one of the girls says, “Well, I’m joining the Scouting Legion!”

“That’s right!” Eren says, fiercely, “Joining the Scouting Legion is humanity’s best chance—”

The girl continues, talking over Eren’s now-familiar dramatic monologue. “Commander Erwin’s so cool and kind! If I were in the Scouting Legion, I might be able to see him every day!”

Eren’s intense expression morphs into one of extreme confusion. “What?”

One of the other girls adds, “I’d be happy just for the chance to be in the same room as Commander Erwin. He’s so _handsome_.”

“Did you see him the other day, when he arrived for that meeting with the instructor? I almost dropped my maneuver gear in surprise. I didn’t expect someone in the military to be so dashing!”

“I’ve never really liked our uniform, but he makes it look so good.”

“Any woman would be lucky to marry him.”

Armin blinks at this sudden turn in the conversation. “I … don’t think we should choose were to go just based on how attractive we find our leader …” Eren nods vigorously at this (“We should join the Scouting Legion because it’s humanity’s best chance of escaping its cage!”), but Mikasa looks at him and shrugs.

“I can see the appeal,” she says, deadpan. Armin almost chokes on his spit. “Commander Erwin is very tall, too.” Eren looks completely betrayed, like Mikasa had just revealed that she was actually the Colossal Titan in disguise.

Jean immediately blusters, “What? What’s so great about that old guy?”

Outraged shrieks ring out in the dining hall, making Marco wince at the volume and pitch. He sighs in exasperation at the angry responses that Jean has unintentionally provoked (again).

“Commander Erwin isn’t _that_ old,” Mina points out reasonably. “Commander Pixis is way older than he is.”

“Do you even know how hard he must work to be able to lead the Scouting Legion? How many sacrifices he must have made to reach his position?”

“It would be an honor to be able to help him relax at the end of a long day at work!”

“Can you imagine?” Hannah gushes. “Greeting him at the front door and helping him take off his dirty clothes.” Beside her, Franz tries and fails not to look heartbroken. Thomas pats him on the back.

“Cooking his favorite meal for him, just because he deserves it and you want to spoil him.”

“And he’s so tired that he can’t even lift the spoon, and you have to feed him!”

The manic glint in the eyes of most of the girls (and some of the boys) makes Bert nervous, and he inches a bit closer to Reiner. Annie, surprisingly, seems to actually be attentively listening to the discussion, her gaze focusing on whoever’s talking at the moment.

“It would be nice if you could take turns eating from the same spoon,” Sasha says. The look on her face is the one she usually saves for meat. Conny side-eyes her, mostly because he can’t figure out if she looks that way because she’s imagining the food, or because she’s imagining the Commander.

“And then you prepare his bath and help him wash his back because he’s just too sore from all the maneuver gear.”

“Imagine snuggling with him in cold weather! Just pressing close to him and letting him wrap his arms around you.”

Christa smiles beatifically, and for a moment, the dining hall seems to be filled with bright light. “That _does_ sound nice. Commander Erwin’s got such a broad chest and well-muscled arms. I bet it would feel really safe if he held you.”

“And then you could sneak in a grope or two,” Ymir says, smirk firmly in place. “I mean, he’s not really my type, but yeah, I can see why some people would go for him.”

“Oh, oh, what if he does that thing where you dance in the middle of the living room? With no music, but he’s just goofing around and relaxing with you.”

“And he twirls you around and you’re both laughing—”

“And then you trip and stumble, but he catches you in his arms—”

Christa’s bouncing in her seat. “They really are nice arms.”

A small frown moves over Annie’s face. “You don’t really have to trip. It could be a calculated move to get under his defenses.”

“And then you stop dancing and he pulls you closer—!”

Ymir rubs her chin thoughtfully. “You could probably cop a feel of his butt from that close.”

At this point, the energy buzzing in the room is almost palpable. People are talking fast, finishing each other’s sentences and adding on to the train of thought. Marco’s trying not to laugh at how wide Jean’s eyes are.

“And then he says, ‘Thank you. For being there for me’.”

“ _Oh my god._ ”

“And you’re blushing and laughing shyly and you can’t really look at him because you’re so embarrassed—”

“But it’s really no trouble at all!”

“Because nothing you do can even begin to repay all the things that Commander Erwin does for you.”

Eren slams his fist on the table. “The things he does _for the sake of humanity_ —!”

“Shut _up_ , Eren,” Reiner hisses. “Don’t ruin the moment.”

“The Commander just doesn’t appreciate his own worth!”

“He’d be so modest about everything.”

“He deserves to have someone take care of him, for a change.”

“Who deserves someone to take care of him?”

The only reason that Conny doesn’t shriek in surprise and jump out of his seat is because years of having Instructor Keith breathing down their necks has desensitized him against commanding officers appearing out of nowhere to terrorize them. Conny does, however, freeze before he slowly turns around to see who’s standing behind him.

Commander Erwin has a small curious smile on his face, head tilted ever so slightly to one side. A sheaf of papers is tucked under one arm. Captain Levi is standing beside him, an eyebrow raised. Both of them are holding sandwiches.

Nac gasps so hard he starts coughing. For a few painful seconds, it’s the only sound in the dining hall.

“W-w-we were talking about Instructor Keith!” Armin blurts out. “He’s taken really good care of us for all these years, and we were thinking of how to repay him before we graduate.”

The smile on the Commander’s face grows. “How thoughtful of you.” One of the girls swoons. “I’m sure he would appreciate any gift you get him.”

“Erwin,” Captain Levi cuts in, “We’ll be late for the meeting. We came here to grab lunch, not talk with these brats.”

“Okay, Levi.” The two adults turn to go, making their way towards the door. There’s a panicked scramble to stand up and properly salute them, but Commander Erwin simply smiles at them again (a thud against the floor signals someone fainting) and waves them off.

As soon as the door closes, the girls start furiously whispering with each other, faces flushed and eyes bright. The previous hum of excitement fills the dining hall again, as if the conversation had never been interrupted.

Jean scratches at the back of his head, brows furrowed. “I still don’t get it,” he tells Marco.

Marco just laughs.


End file.
